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Pedro Rangel - Rio 2016

Pedro Rangel

Swimming
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Pedro Rangel has proven to be a 100m breaststroke SB5 specialist throughout his career, having won all of his medals at Paralympic Games and World Championships in that event.

On his Paralympic debut at Athens 2004, the Mexican claimed bronze, repeating that feat twice at London 2012 and Rio 2016. His major achievement came in Beijing, China, in 2008, when he sealed his only Paralympic title.

In 2013, the 37-year-old touched in second at the World Championships in Montreal, Canada, to take silver. He seeks to win another medal on home soil at the Worlds in Mexico City, from 30 September-7 October 2017.

Rangel stood out on the regional stage as well. In 2003, he sealed two silvers at the Parapan American Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina, and followed that up with a gold at Guadalajara 2011 and another silver at Toronto 2015.

Rangel showed top form also in the open water, as he was part of the first team made up of Paralympic swimmers that crossed the English Channel, in 2014.

 

Biography

Impairment information

Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency
Origin of Impairment
Acquired
Classification
S6, SB5, SM6

Further personal information

Family
Two children
Languages
Spanish

Sport specific information

When and where did you begin this sport?
He began swimming at age 18 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Why this sport?
While he was on holiday from work he enrolled in a sports club in his hometown of Guadalajara, where he met coach Margarita Hernandez. "By the second day of my swimming lessons she told me that I had talent." He had decided to take up swimming after almost drowning during a family vacation.
Name of coach
Margarita Hernandez [personal]
Training Regime
He trains twice a day. He combines his pool training with handbiking and sport climbing.

International debut

Year
2002
Competing for
Mexico
Tournament
World Championships
Location
Mar del Plata, ARG

General interest

Nicknames
Micha (discapacinet.gob.mx, 09 Jun 2007)
Hero / Idol
French footballer Zinedine Zidane. (discapacinet.gob.mx, 09 Jun 2007)
Injuries
He has struggled with an herniated disk injury since 2008. (corrientealterna.unam.mx, 13 Dec 2020)
Ambitions
To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (corrientealterna.unam.mx, 13 Dec 2020)
Impairment
He lost both his legs at age eight when he tried to jump onto a moving train. (atletasla.com, 09 Mar 2019; informador.com.mx, 16 Nov 2011)
Other information
ENGLISH CHANNEL
In September 2018 he swam the English Channel in a time of 15 hours and 48 minutes. Four years earlier, he swam from England to France as part of a group of Para swimmers called The Honu Para Swim Team. "It was always my dream to swim the channel, and I had an idea of what it was about. Now I realise the magnitude. It was hard but it's so rewarding." (atletasla.com, 09 Mar 2019; ntrguadalajara.com, 25 Sep 2018)

Results

Unit Date Rank
IPC Swimming World Championships Mar del Plata 2002 (Mar del Plata, Argentina)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Men's 100 m Freestyle S7 Heats 16
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB5 Heats 8
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB5 Final Round 9999
Men's 4x50 m Freestyle 20 pts Final Round 6
IPC Swimming World Championships Durban 2006 (Durban, South Africa)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Men's 100 m Freestyle S7 Heats 15
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB5 Final Round 1
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB5 Heats 2
Men's 400 m Freestyle S7 Heats 11
Men's 4x50 m Freestyle 20 pts Final Round 2
Men's 4x50 m Medley 20 pts Final Round 7
Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games (Beijing, China)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB5 Heat 2 1
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB5 Final Round 1
Men's 4x50 m Freestyle 20 pts Final Round 5
Men's 4x50 m Medley 20 pts Heat 2 4
Men's 4x50 m Medley 20 pts Final Round 7
Athens 2004 Paralympic Games (Athens, Greece)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB5 Heat 2 4
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB5 Final Round 3
Men's 4x50 m Freestyle 20 pts Heat 2 4
Men's 4x50 m Freestyle 20 pts Final Round 8
Men's 4x50 m Medley 20 pts Heat 2 9999
London 2012 Paralympic Games (London, Great Britain)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB5 Final Round 2012-09-05 3
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB5 Heat 2 2012-09-05 2
2013 IPC Swimming World Championships (Montreal, Canada)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB5 Heat 1 2013-08-16 2
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB5 Final 1 2013-08-16 2
2015 IPC Swimming World Championships (Glasgow, Great Britain)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB5 Heat 1 2015-07-14 6
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB5 Final 1 2015-07-14 6
Rio 2016 Paralympic Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB5 Final Round 2016-09-11 3
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB5 Heat 1 2016-09-11 2